Acquired users? Now try retaining them

The customers in today’s world are smarter than before, they are fast moving and seek information in all possible ways. Whether they use mobile phones, tablets, or other mobile devices they have all the information they need. In fact the use of mobile applications have gone up many folds in the past few years. Moreover with the vast pool of options available, a customer is free to choose between any mobile applications which would serve the same purpose.

Mobile apps

If you own a business and it can be any business, a mobile app can help you get and retain customers and there is no getting away from that fact. At a glance a customer will be able to see and open your mobile application and purchase from your business. Now just having a mobile application does not guarantee customers downloading it or using it. A lot of hard work goes into Mobile Application Development. The plight of a mobile application developer is actually challenging because even though this mobile app development space is vibrant and offers a lot of opportunities; it also brings along with it many new development questions like the devices to target, how to ensure creativity yet simplicity, how to guarantee security etc. It is definitely not a cakewalk for an app developer.

Acquiring new users is not difficult since the installation of any application is just a click away. And if your app is an attention catcher then it would definitely catch hold of many new users. But what is a major concern for most app developers these days is the difficulty of retaining users. One might get a new user every day but making them stay is hard and it is getting harder every single day. The thought of losing most of the acquired users is a nightmare for any developer. Though what is causing this dynamic to play out in the mobile application ecosystem is debatable; yet a few steps could be taken in order to retain users for a longer period of time.

These are a few tips that may help retention of mobile application users.

• Garnering user feedback
Want a user to stay? Listen to his/her complains. It works like it does in a relationship. Make it easy and smooth for users to give an in-app feedback. In this way the negative reviews can be detected immediately and dealt with directly and more efficiently while the positive reviewers can help increase the ranking of the app. Feedback thus results in a real-time valuable insight into the app issues and furthermore understands the user needs and opinions which can be worked upon hence making the customer stay.

• Responding quickly
What any user appreciates is a quick response. The best way of doing this is by letting users know when their problems are resolved. Replying constructively to both negative and positive reviews. Referring users to a good FAQ or responding with helpful documentation.

• Sending out push notifications
Apps that use push notifications boast of high retention rates. The actual percentage is about 90% higher for apps where users have opted-in to push notifications.

• Updating apps
Updating apps are critical in order to cater towards the users’ needs. Even if the users are not new; they would want the app to be updated to the newest features. Their addiction leads to the want of more and more new features and hence a mobile app has to live up to their expectations if it wants the users to hang on.

• Keeping It Interactive
An interactive user interface is preferred by most users. Now and again surprising the mobile application users with certain unusual features might help engaging users and preventing them from leaving. This ought to be done very carefully since many users don’t like to encounter a not-so-known interface design. Hence thus it is better to maintain a consistency in the flow of data and smoothly execute functions within the application.

• Using deep linking with app messages
Let your app lead the user to what he wants. This is the practice of linking to a specific screen instead of simply opening the app or the home screen. It thus saves the user a lot of time searching for the relevant screen, thereby engaging them immediately with the related subject matter at hand and negating navigation confusion.

• Implementing a loyalty program
Which user does not like to feel special? Especially if you are an older user you would want some perks in sticking around to an application. Implementing a loyalty program would be a step closer to retaining users since that further encourages users to interact with your app and rewards the old yet frequent users. Hence, users will feel that their time is worth something, and that they’re being actively appreciated.

• Adjusting according to season
Holiday season is the perfect time to surprise a user with some seasonal changes, you can try something new, run specific promotions, or add some fun features. Whether it be changing the visuals to a holiday-themed or any such small yet noticeable changes. The holiday time would be competitive, but also lucrative. It is the best time to engage users and give them more reasons to stay.
All things said and done. Ultimately companies that play an active part in communicating with customers and keeping them engaged meet their needs and expectations to a better extent. And hence are well on their way to achieving the prime objective of any customer retention program and gaining greater customer loyalty.